There is a significant negative correlation between receiving a high level of COVID-related attention and receiving abuse (-0.52, p<0.001, Feb 7th to May 25th, Spearman's PMCC). We see this clearly in prominent government figures below, who are receiving the lion's share of the COVID-19 attention and lower levels of abuse than seen for them in pre-COVID periods [1]}, [2]}. However the correlation is significant across the sample of all MPs. The reaction of the public to the Conservative party and the government's actions during COVID-19 may be related to the conditions of a public health crisis as discussed in [3]}, [4]}, in which citizens may feel more motivated to trust authorities, although it may also follow from the crisis engaging a different group of people than usually respond to politicians on Twitter.
